The Bourne Legacy

It's a God forsaken spot that could be in flyover US

Another free preview from 'The Times'  At 10am in Beckton the area feels like the countryside in remote Essex with a almost deserted leisure complex dropped in. About 2 miles from Stratford this is one of the eeriest parts of London.  On the bus everyone had a tatooo, even an elderly lady who looked about 80.

The film was very James Bond-like with  bike chases and violent but thought provoking.

Glimpse of the Old East End at Excel centre

All my family including me, worked at one time in the Docks. These are two reminders of that tradition. My sister died 14 years ago and she would not have recognised any of this. The area is so changed and is now entirely leisure rather than work. But the contrast between the two sides of the railway bridge  by Excel is two different worlds. One entirely corporate, the other municipal council.  Both awful and destroying any signs of individuality

The Excel - Olympics

We attended two events, the rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony- and the wrestling at Excel which was fascinating.- although all the eastern european athletes were beaten

The other Stratford

There are two Stratfords nowadays. Not 'on Avon' but the one at the Olympic Park which is really a another country full of beautiful, tanned toned people.
the other one is much more interesting. On the day the Olympic stadium opened for athletics, I went to the shopping centre 200 yards away. No,, not Westfield, but the Old Mall, which itself replaced Angel Lane over forty years ago. This is the real thing, just like the coke which the chap at the start of the film casually tossed on the ground.
There  followed a stand off with the police watching warily nearby